2007年NPR美国国家公共电台二月-Listening Shows Me the Way

Welcome to This I Believe, an NPR series presenting the personal philosophies of remarkable¹ men and women from all walks of life.

I believe in figuring out my own way to do things.
I believe in the power of numbers.
I believe in Barbecue.
Well, I believe in friendliness².
I believe in mankind.
This I Believe.

On Mondays NPR brings you our series This I Believe. And our essay today comes from the founder³ of ACORN⁴. It's a national organization that helps low and moderate income people lobby for changes in their communities. Wade⁵ Rathke has been a professional organizer for 35 years working now from his home base of New Orleans, and he sent this essay to our series curator Jay Allison.

In writing for our series, essayists sometimes say they have to peel an onion of belief to get to the centre. That's Wade Rathke told us too. He wrote first of his belief in organizing but eventually he found his way to the layer of belief that underlies⁶ that. Here's Wade Rathke with his essay for "This I Believe".

I believe in listening, even if that's not the typical image of an organizer.
Movies provide the scenes. The organizer climbs on the soapbox to make the speech that turns the crowd, calls the strike and galvanizes the community into action. I've done all of that, but none of that is the heart of organizing, at least to me. I started doing this work when I was a teenager. What did I know about being a mother on welfare? What did I know about housing, education and jobs? Nothing. But I found out quickly that if I listened---really listened---to what people were telling me about their lives and their problems. Then I did know something. I knew what they knew. Any morning of the week, for the price of a cup of coffee, Max Allison held court at the Walgreen's on Main Street in Little Rock. Allison, the political wizard behind a dozen Arkansas politicians, would lecture me on what he called "the equation"--how politics really worked. I listened. On long phone calls late at night, Mamie Ruth Williams taught me everything she had learned about dealing⁷ with the press from the "1957 school desegregation fights". I listened. The more people talked, and the more I listened. It became almost inevitable⁸, maybe even irresistible⁹ for us to organize and do something effective. I was just a young kid filled with rage, fear and passion who wanted to make a difference, who wanted to be part of the sweeping¹⁰ changes all around me.

35 years later, this is still how I feel. When hurricane Katrina happened, none of us knew up from down, we worried that New Orleans had become a biohazard ( a risk to human health or the environment arising from biological research. )zone that houses would have to be demolished¹¹, that will be irresponsible to help people to return. I was at a loss about what to do, how to organize. So I listened hard to our members who were dislocated and relocated. Long-time ACORN leader Paul Fernandez was fighting to prevent foreclosure on his flooded home in the Lower Ninth Ward¹². He taught me that protecting that right, the right to return was what our organization's role should be. I had been lost, but listening showed me the way.

Listening is good for everyone. When people have to explain something to me, it helps them understand their own needs better. We can decide together what needs to be done and then take action. Listening strengthens all of our beliefs.

Wade Rathke, with his essay for "This I Believe". Rathke is busy with his listening and organizing these days. He's on the road about 2/3 of this year.

We welcome all statements of personal belief for our series, you can submit yours and find out what others have written at our website----npr.org. For This I Believe, I'm Jay Allison.

This I Believe continues next Monday on All Things Considered when we will meet a nurse who believes in the importance of grieving.

Support for This I Believe comes from Capella University.

This I Believe is produced for NPR by This I Believe Incorporated and Atlantic Public Media. For more essays in the series, please visit NPR.org/thisibelieve.

Support for NPR podcasts comes from Acura featuring the completely redesigned 300 horsepower MDX. More information is available at Acura.com.

 

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 acorn   

n.橡实，橡子

参考例句：

• The oak is implicit in the acorn.橡树孕育于橡子之中。
• The tree grew from a small acorn.橡树从一粒小橡子生长而来。

5 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

6 underlies   

v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的第三人称单数 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起

参考例句：

• I think a lack of confidence underlies his manner. 我认为他表现出的态度是因为他缺乏信心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Try to figure out what feeling underlies your anger. 努力找出你的愤怒之下潜藏的情感。 来自辞典例句

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

9 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

10 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

11 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

12 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。